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ADAPTING OUDE DOKKEN
**Preserving the harbour soul in Ghent’s transforming Old Dockyards** Inspired by Cultural Sustainability, contemporary Belgian architecture, Jane Jacobs and Paola Viganò, Studio Skåtar and students examined Ghent’s Old Dockyards, a large harbour district under development since the 2005 masterplan by OMA/Rem Koolhaas. The study produced four guiding principles: 1. Preserve and carefully adapt the industrial harbour heritage 2. Repurpose existing…
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ASTROHEDRON LIGHT
This LED lamp aims to materialise the actual positions of stars in outer space. The low-voltage electricity is transmitted through the metal rods. Each sphere contains an LED and brass conductors. Size: 55 x 50 x 35 cm (or customisable). Material: 3D-printed (SLS) polyamide, brass, LEDs.
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BOTTOM UP ZEITZ
**Urban acupuncture for revitalising neglected corners** Inspired by Cultural Sustainability, Jane Jacobs, Slow Urbanism and Urban Acupuncture, Studio Skåtar and students examined the town of Zeitz in Saxony-Anhalt, a historically rich city facing population decline. The study produced four guiding principles: 1. Create gathering spaces and small event places for everyday social life 2. Highlight Zeitz’s remarkable architectural and historical…
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DOUBLE PYRAMID STRUCTURE
Two intersecting wire-frame pyramids create a complex geometrical structure that aims to express lightness and rigidity simultaneously. The shape is smaller at the base and larger at the top to optimise floor space. Size: 70 x 70 x 40 cm Material: welded steel rods and glass plate
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HORIZONTALISING EUROPARK ANTWERP
**Human-scale strategies for a modernist housing landscape** Studio Skåtar and students created four guiding principles for Antwerp's Europark district, dominated by high-rise residential slabs and vast open plains: 1. Preserve the high-rise residential slabs 2. Reuse the ground and first floors of the slabs for inexpensive commercial and creative spaces 3. Densify the vast plains between the slabs, first introducing…
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HOUSE D
House D / Haus D is a proposal for an extension of a house built in the 1970s in Ebersberg, Bavaria, Germany. The main objective was to create a new shared space with a view of the Alps. However, adding a floor would overshadow the existing architecture. Instead, Studio Skåtar suggested adding a similarly shaped element centrally on the building.…
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ICOSAHEDRON LIGHT
This lampshade is based on the icosahedron. It consists of 20 triangular, raw aluminium plates that are joined by minimal steel connections to optimise the length of the light slots. The size and the coating (white, black, chrome) can be customised. Size: Diameter 22 cm. Material: raw aluminium, steel, LED light, fixtures.
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JøSSINGFJORD CENTRE
Proposal for a new visitor’s centre in Jøssingfjorden, Sokndal, Norway, presenting the region’s history, landscape, and places of interest. With the help of large leaning windows, the architectural concept aims to frame specific views of the immense surrounding landscape. The windows and the wall shapes beneath them link the exhibition content and the outside.
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KALMAR ART MUSEUM
Competition for a new art museum in Kalmar, Sweden. The site was next to an existing 1950s restaurant, and the proposal borrowed elements of modernism, using primary colours on white concrete. The project encompassed extensive research on indirect, northern light, and testing the light quality using large-scale models.
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PENTAKIS LIGHT
This lampshade is based on the pentakis dodecahedron. It consists of 60 triangular, raw aluminium plates that are joined by minimal steel connections to optimise the length of the light slots. The size and the coating (white, black, chrome) can be customised. Size: Diameter 60 cm. Material: raw aluminium, steel, LED light, fixtures.
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PROJECTS
**MATERIALISING IDEAS** Studio Skåtar develops architecture, urban proposals, design objects and interior spaces. The work combines research, site-based analysis and design craft, translating ideas into spatial, material and visual form.
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SERLACHIUS MUSEUM
The Serlachius Museum was a competition for an extension of the existing museum in Mänttä, Finland. Studio Skåtar focused on strong communication between the park and the non-exhibition interiors. The proposal placed the three large exhibition halls, with north-facing roof lanterns, as islands within the park landscape. Their scale, as seen from the exterior, is altered by installing a 3…
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TOWNHOUSE A
The project is part of a case study on filling gaps in the city with optimised, customisable townhouses. Townhouse A is 5 metres wide and has an inner width of 4.2 metres. The plan layout follows a 600 x 600 mm grid. The staircase is a crucial component of this type of dwelling and must be functional, comfortable, and artistically…
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TRIACONTAHEDRON LIGHT
This lampshade’s geometry is based on the rhombic triacontahedron. It consists of 30 rhombic aluminium plates joined by minimal steel connections to optimise the length of the light slots. The plate size, tripod, and coating (white, black, chrome) are customisable. This object: Diameter 60 cm, aluminium, steel, LED light, fixtures.
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TRIANGULATED SPHERE
A series of temporary works using triangular sheets of paper to create the impression of a larger geometrical shape. In this case, a part of a sphere affects the spatial perception. Dimensions: 5 x 4 m (width x height).
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VIBRATION MIRROR
The Vibration Mirror is a topographical sculpture that interprets the impact of two water droplets. The resulting shapes were carved from an aluminium plate, materialising the rigid, static structure of water at close range. Its size is customisable. This version is 60 x 40 x 2 cm, made of chromed polyurethane, but can also be made from polished aluminium.
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VILLA H
Villa H is a concept for a single-family home, divided into four buildings and six outdoor spaces. Dividing the buildings means keeping them on low energy consumption when not in use. Each living unit has its own small garden, which is also the main view, keeping the unit private. The buildings are arranged around a shared, green inner yard. Additionally,…
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WATER CEILING
Competition for a new entrance design at the School of Medical Sciences, Örebro, Sweden. A long roof, from the street to the building entrance. Its ceiling is a topographical sculpture interpreting the shapes of water ripples. The high-polished surface generates water-like reflections. Materials: Aluminium slabs, polished to mirror-like reflection, steel pillars. Dimensions: 8 x 20 x 6 m (width x…
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WAVE TABLE
Wave Table is a sculpture that interprets the impact of a water droplet. The resulting shapes were carved from acrylic glass, expressing the frozen, static structure of water on close range. Size: 50 x 50 x 50 cm (or customisable). Material: polished acrylic glass and aluminium.
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WELTRAUM
Competition entry for an art installation. Thousands of LED spheres were mounted on wires attached to the ceiling of a 20 x 20 metre room. The positions of the LED spheres represent a portion of outer space, and the radii of the spheres represent the size and strength of stars. Materials: LEDs, spherical plastic of various sizes, and wires. Size:…
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FORM WORKSHOP
is Studio Skåtar’s research and educational platform for geometry, Rhinoceros 3D, Grasshopper and digital craft. Rather than generic software instruction, Form Workshop approaches modelling as applied craft: structured geometry, parametric logic and reusable modelling strategies that integrate directly into real architectural projects. → {{Visit www.formworkshop.net|https://formworkshop.net/|_blank}}
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FREDRIK SKåTAR
**ACADEMIC PROFILE** Fredrik Skåtar is a Swedish architect, educator and researcher based in Berlin. He has taught architecture and design at DIA Dessau / Anhalt University of Applied Sciences, Lund University School of Architecture and the Free University of Bolzano, and has collaborated in teaching and workshops with institutions including KU Leuven and Politecnico di Torino. His teaching and research…
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PRECEDENTS
Browse Studio Skåtar’s precedents archive: a large collection of design, architecture and urbanism. Accessible with password.
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STUDENT FEEDBACK
*“Your guidance and critical feedback played a key role in shaping both my process and perspective as a designer.”* — Master student, DIA Dessau, 2025 *“Your honest feedback, thoughtful questions, and the way you encouraged independent thinking helped me develop not only my project, but also how I approach design in general.”* — Master student, DIA Dessau, 2025 *“Fredrik’s teaching…
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STUDIO CULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY
Master’s thesis studio led by Fredrik Skåtar at {{DIA Dessau|https://www.hs-anhalt.de/studiengaenge/mad.html|_blank}} (2023–2025), resulting in 45 master’s theses forming a shared body of research and design work. The studio developed and tested the Cultural Sustainability framework through real urban contexts. — See the {{2025 exhibition video|https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/sI9li1Y7bCw|lightbox}} — {{Visit the studio page|/teaching/cultural-sustainability-studio/|_self}}.
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STUDIO EUROPARK ANTWERP
Studio Europark was a 2022 architecture studio at DIA Dessau, led by Fredrik Skåtar in collaboration with the {{Antwerp Bouwmeester|https://www.antwerpenmorgen.be/|_blank}}. Students explored small, human-scale interventions within Europark’s 1970s high-rise landscape on Antwerp’s Linkeroever, combining fieldwork, urban analysis and design proposals for public life and gradual transformation.
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STUDIO OASIS
A series of master’s architecture and design studios at {{DIA|https://www.hs-anhalt.de/studiengaenge/mad.html|_blank}} and {{MAID Dessau|https://www.hs-anhalt.de/hochschule-anhalt/design/uebersicht.html|_blank}} (2019-2023), led by Fredrik Skåtar, detecting, investigating and analysing neglected urban corners and proposing bottom-up interventions as an alternative to conventional top-down urban strategies. — {{Visit the studio page|/teaching/oasis/|_self}}.
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TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
**Research through teaching** Teaching and research are closely intertwined in Fredrik Skåtar’s work. Studios, workshops and supervision become research environments where students investigate architecture, urban life and their own ambitions through fieldwork, precedents, writing, digital tools and design proposals. His teaching combines individual guidance with academic structure, helping students develop their individual strengths, clarify their ambitions and form independent architectural…
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WORKSHOP INDUSTRIES OF HOPE
A Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) initiated by Fredrik Skåtar at DIA Dessau, in collaboration with {{KU Leuven|https://arch.kuleuven.be/}} and {{Politecnico di Torino|https://www.dad.polito.it/}}, exploring how former harbour industrial sites can be transformed into culturally sustainable environments. — See {{Industries of Hope in the 2025 exhibition video|https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/sI9li1Y7bCw|lightbox}}. — Visit the {{workshop website|https://sites.google.com/view/industries-of-hope/|lightbox}}.
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ADAPTIVE REUSE
**TRANSFORMING WHAT IS ALREADY THERE** How can existing buildings become the starting point for new architectural ideas? The lecture looks at adaptive reuse through selected European projects, examining how existing structures, cultural memory and new programmes can be brought together without reducing transformation to preservation.
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ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN FIRST
**— The Computer Did It?** Did the computer design it? In this conversation-based lecture, Fredrik Skåtar argues that architecture emerges through trained perception and decision-making — with tools, not from them. Drawing on experience from Studio Olafur Eliasson, research into Zaha Hadid Architects, and critical engagement with computational design culture at institutions such as ETH, MIT, ICD and CITA, he…
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ARCHITECTURE IS SUSTAINABLE
**— Is Sustainability an Architectural Revival?** Sustainability dominates architectural discourse, often reduced to technical and environmental performance. But as climate awareness grows, are we also witnessing a renewed public concern for architecture and shared urban space? In this lecture, Fredrik Skåtar argues for a broader understanding of sustainability that reconnects environmental responsibility with cultural, societal and spatial quality. *First commissioned…
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BERLIN
**— A CITY OF CONTRADICTIONS** Berlin is a city shaped by rupture, reinvention and radical transformation. This lecture examines the extraordinary architectural decade after reunification and asks why the later real-estate boom produced far more conventional results. Through built examples, we extract strategic urban lessons from one of Europe’s most complex capitals.
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BOOK OR REQUEST A LECTURE
**Prepared online lecture — €400** Choose one of the existing lecture topics and book a suitable time directly. Each session lasts 90 minutes: approximately 45 minutes of lecture followed by discussion. No payment is taken when booking; Studio Skåtar invoices afterwards. {{BOOK A PREPARED LECTURE|https://calendly.com/skatar/lectures/-online|calendly|button-online}} **Custom lecture** A lecture can also be developed or adapted around a specific audience, project,…
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CITIES
How should architecture be understood when it is read as part of a city rather than as an isolated object? Based on long-term field research, the lectures begin with the city’s structure, history and ambitions, then move through selected urban transformations, public spaces and buildings to examine the forces shaping them.
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CREATING A CUSTOM LECTURE
A custom lecture begins with an enquiry and a conversation about the audience, context, topic and format. Studio Skåtar then develops or adapts the lecture using relevant research, precedents and architectural examples.
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CULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY
Has sustainability become too focused on materials, energy and technical performance — while people and culture receive less attention? These lectures examine identity, public life, heritage, adaptive reuse, mobility and architectural culture, asking how buildings and cities can support continuity, belonging and long-term social and cultural value.
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CUSTOM LECTURE FORMATS
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CUSTOM LECTURES
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DIGITAL CRAFT
What do digital tools actually change in architecture — and who is the author when computation or AI becomes part of the design process? Drawing on practice, teaching and research, the lectures examine computational design as a form of craft, and how architects can retain judgement, responsibility and design intent while using increasingly powerful tools.
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DIGITAL CRAFT AS SKILLS TRAINING
Grasshopper is often associated with spectacular geometry, but its value can also lie in training geometric thinking and maintaining control over the architectural model. Drawing on Form Workshop and teaching experience, this lecture examines how architects learn through modelling, parametric logic and problem-solving — and why understanding the tools matters for design judgement. *Part of Fredrik Skåtar’s PhD-thesis*
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EVOLUTION NOT REVOLUTION
Digital tools, Grasshopper and AI are often described as revolutionary disruptions. This lecture asks whether they are better understood as part of a longer evolution of architectural tools, alongside drawing, modelling, measuring, material testing and making. Drawing on practice, teaching and research, Fredrik Skåtar examines how architects can adopt new tools without giving up authorship, judgement or control over the…
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FLANDERS
**— THE FLEMISH DIAMOND** Based on extensive field research in Antwerp and Ghent, this lecture examines how policy, public institutions and architectural culture interact in Flanders. Central is the Bouwmeester system and its role in competitions, public debate and long-term spatial thinking. The lecture asks what this institutional culture may offer other European contexts. *First commissioned by {{Style Scandinavia|https://style.se/|_blank}} in…
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HAMBURG
**— GERMANY’S ARCHITECTURAL POWERHOUSE?** Hamburg combines economic strength with sustained architectural ambition. The lecture examines landmark projects, waterfront development and emerging districts to ask how policy, investment and design have shaped the city — and whether Hamburg offers a useful benchmark for contemporary architecture in Germany. *First commissioned by {{Style Scandinavia|https://style.se/|_blank}} in 2021 and subsequently developed.* *Commissioned by several Swedish…
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HAVENHUIS
**— ANTWERP PORT AUTHORITY** Zaha Hadid’s Havenhuis in Antwerp is often presented as a symbol of digital architecture. This lecture examines the building as a case study in authorship, craftsmanship and the actual role of computational tools in design and construction. It uses the project to ask how much architecture is shaped by software — and how that question changes…
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HELSINKI
**— THE INTELLIGENT WATERFRONT CITY** Helsinki is transforming its former industrial waterfronts into integrated, human-scaled urban districts. Through adaptive reuse, carefully placed public buildings and long-term planning, the city demonstrates strategic innovation without spectacle. This lecture explores how Helsinki aligns architectural experimentation with everyday urban life.
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JANE JACOBS
**— THE BOTTOM-UP CITY** This lecture introduces Jane Jacobs and her four conditions for vibrant urban life, shaped from the ground up. We explore how she understood the city as a living ecosystem — sustained by diversity, density and everyday street activity rather than top-down planning. Finally, we examine her legacy and how, after a long period of relative neglect,…
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LECTURE FORMATS
Lectures can be held online or on site, as individual lectures, seminar-style sessions, lecture series or events. Custom formats are discussed in advance and quoted separately; travel costs are added where relevant.
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LECTURES
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LONDON
**— LAYERS OF A MEGACITY** London’s identity is built on layers — from Roman Londinium to industrial expansion and contemporary reuse. This lecture moves beyond iconic buildings to examine less obvious architecture and spatial qualities that shape the city’s character. It asks how historical continuity and constant reinvention coexist within a metropolis undergoing continual change.
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NORTHERN ITALY
**— ARCHITECTURE AS SHARED CULTURE** From Turin and Milan to Verona, Padova and Venice, Northern Italy cannot be reduced to a single city — it is a continuous cultural landscape. In this lecture, we explore how deeply rooted traditions, craftsmanship and civic identity generate a vibrant, shared outdoor architectural experience. Streets, piazzas, arcades and waterfronts become living rooms of the…
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ONLINE LECTURE TERMS
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PREPARED ONLINE LECTURES
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RESEARCH THROUGH TEACHING
Fredrik Skåtar presents teaching as a form of architectural research. Drawing on master studios in Cultural Sustainability, Bottom-up urbanism, adaptive reuse and related thesis work, the lecture examines how young architects investigate overlooked urban situations, transform their worldviews through writing, design, and observing everyday life. The lecture reflects on successful didactic models, thesis supervision, fieldwork, and how education can shift…
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THE BOUWMEESTER
This lecture introduces the Flemish Bouwmeester system and its role in shaping architectural quality, public understanding and long-term urban vision in Flanders. Based on field research in Antwerp, Ghent and Brussels, the lecture examines why architectural ideas often seem easier to communicate in Flanders than in many other European contexts. It asks whether the Bouwmeester’s societal position helps create a…
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THE CULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY CONCEPT
**— BEYOND GREEN BUILDING** Sustainability is unavoidable — but what does it mean for everyday life, identity and shared space? This lecture introduces a four-part framework: heritage; diversity and identity; community engagement and participation; adaptive reuse and revitalisation. Through case studies, it explores the hypothesis that feeling rooted, engaged and able to live well in an environment can support more…
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TRAINS
**— Shaping Cities, Architecture and Everyday Life** Rail is not only transport — it is the invisible structure that shapes how cities grow and how people live. From continental high-speed networks to regional “horizontal metropolises” and local station transformations, this lecture explores how rail can reduce peripherality, enable distributed life and anchor new urban futures. Drawing on European examples, Fredrik…
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YOUTUBE
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BERLIN
**— Researching Urban Transformation.** Berlin offers a rare opportunity to study rupture, reinvention and strategic urban rebuilding at full scale. This research trip analyses the ambitious architectural decade after reunification and contrasts it with the later real-estate boom, revealing why visionary momentum shifted. Through site visits and professional meetings, we extract transferable lessons from one of Europe’s most complex capitals.
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FLANDERS
**— Policy as Architectural Culture** Based on extensive field research in Antwerp and Ghent, this research trip examines Flanders as a model of policy-driven architectural quality. Central to this culture is the Flemish Bouwmeester system, safeguarding long-term urban vision beyond short-term politics. Participants gain insight into how governance structures can actively shape architectural excellence.
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HAMBURG
**— Strategic Waterfront Urbanism** Hamburg demonstrates how economic strength can translate into long-term architectural ambition. This research trip explores HafenCity, landmark projects and emerging districts to understand how policy, investment and design align. Participants gain insight into how strategic consistency can produce architectural leadership at a national scale.
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HELSINKI
**— The Intelligent Waterfront City** Helsinki provides a living laboratory for the strategic transformation of former industrial waterfronts. This research trip explores adaptive reuse, carefully positioned public buildings and long-term planning frameworks that prioritise everyday urban life. We analyse how innovation can remain intelligent and human-scaled rather than spectacular.
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HOW THE PROGRAMME UNFOLDS
**1. Focus and framing** The process begins with the group’s questions, priorities and timeframe. Studio Skåtar establishes the main themes and develops a framework for understanding the destination as a whole — its structure, history, ambitions and current challenges. **2. Research and curation** Studio Skåtar researches and selects relevant districts, buildings, public spaces and urban transformations, organising them into a…
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LONDON
**— Managing the Layered Metropolis** London allows us to examine how extreme historical layering can coexist with radical contemporary development. This research trip moves beyond icons to investigate adaptive reuse, infrastructure and hidden spatial qualities that sustain metropolitan resilience. Through guided analysis and professional dialogue, we explore how continuity and reinvention operate simultaneously at the megacity scale.
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NORTHERN ITALY
**— Architecture as Shared Civic Culture** From Turin and Milan to Verona, Padova and Venice, Northern Italy functions as a continuous cultural landscape rather than isolated destinations. This research trip studies how craftsmanship, public space and civic identity shape architecture as a shared, lived culture. Streets, piazzas and arcades become case studies in how spatial intelligence fosters social continuity and…
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STUDIO SKåTAR RESEARCH TRIPS
Studio Skåtar develops architect-led research trips for companies, architecture practices, municipalities and professional groups seeking deeper insight into cities, architecture and urban change. Each programme is researched, curated and guided by Fredrik Skåtar around the group’s own questions, combining urban context, selected projects and, where relevant, discussions with local professionals. Studio Skåtar provides the research, architectural content, programme and guiding.…
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TESTIMONIALS
**Selected Feedback from Recent Research Trips** **A Stockholm-based project developer** highlighted the value of direct access to relevant projects and local professionals aligned with the company’s strategic direction. The contextual framing of each visit was described as particularly valuable. **A major Scandinavian architectural office** travelled with a team of 120 architects and engineers. The programme was divided into focused groups…
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FORM WORKSHOP
is Studio Skåtar’s research and educational platform for geometry, Rhinoceros 3D, Grasshopper and digital craft. Rather than generic software instruction, Form Workshop approaches modelling as applied craft: structured geometry, parametric logic and reusable modelling strategies that integrate directly into real architectural projects. → {{Visit www.formworkshop.net|https://formworkshop.net/|_blank}}
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PLACE READING WORKSHOP
**— A site-based workshop for reading a place before developing ideas or proposals.** Participants walk, observe, draw, photograph, map and discuss the site directly, looking at **use and activity, movement and thresholds, traces and layers, and atmosphere.** The aim is to understand not only what a place looks like, but **how it works, feels and carries meaning.**
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PLACE RESEARCH WORKSHOP
**A project-specific workshop bringing outside architectural perspectives into an ongoing project.** Studio Skåtar develops tailored lectures, international precedents and theoretical inputs around the client’s questions. Through project presentations, seminars and discussion, the team develops its own findings, priorities and possible next steps.
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WORKSHOPS
Studio Skåtar offers workshops for architects, planners, project teams, institutions and culturally engaged groups who want to develop architectural thinking through practice, observation and discussion. The workshops range from site-based mapping and project-specific reflection to digital modelling and geometry training, and can be booked via Calendly where available or arranged by enquiry when adapted to a specific site, project, team…